£6 million upgrade for popular local brand, Barista Bar

Premium coffee to go brand, Barista Bar has benefitted from a modernized brand refresh and the installation of new state of the art bean to cup machines and custom designed stands across the SPAR, EUROSPAR, ViVo and ViVOXtra network.

The £6 million investment by Mallusk based owners, Henderson Foodservice is due for completion by mid-November, and with Barista Bar featuring in a further 30 new stores by the end of 2021, it will bring the total number of Barista Bar machines to 540 across 425 stores, making it Northern Ireland’s largest coffee brand.

The brand refresh includes a variety of new hot drinks to complement the existing Americanos, lattes, cappuccinos, Thompson teas and Barista Bar treats available in the range. These include a larger ‘lux’ drink offer, a flat white and a new style hot chocolate drink.

Mark Stewart-Maunder, Henderson Foodservice’s Commercial and Development director, said: “This latest investment takes the total brand spend since Barista Bar’s launch to £13 million and we aim to continue our investment programme throughout 2022 reaching even more customers and making the brand more accessible in almost every region of Northern Ireland as well as in Great Britain.

“Getting a premium cup of coffee has never been easier or more convenient. Our retail network loves the brand as the product range is so popular with their customers. We’ve had fantastic feedback already from both customers and retailers from those stores who have been able to experience the quality and consistency of our hot beverages. We’re looking forward to finalizing our rollout so that everyone can enjoy the new additions to the product range.”

Barista Bar® brand manager, Keavy O’Mahony-Truesdale, explained: “Our new Barista Bar machines are amongst the best in the market with a patented milk system which creates a sumptuous milk foam on cappuccinos, lattes and hot chocolate drinks providing a consistent quality and taste.

“We’re also thrilled with the vibrant new stands as they are designed to have increased visibility in store, capturing shoppers’ attention as well as allowing for functional merchandising and stock holding. Being conscious of the environmental impact of single use coffee cups, we launched our own bespoke reusable cups of which there are currently almost 80,000 in use across Northern Ireland.

“Barista Bar is committed to being a sustainable brand and rewards consumers for their support on this journey through our loyalty scheme which currently has over 78,000 registered users.”

Since it was unveiled in 2015 the Barista Bar ® brand has seen exponential growth and currently sells over 11 million cups each year. The company is also expanding across the UK and currently has 48 Barista Bar sites located in CO-OP East of England stores with potential for further growth.

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